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    Lockheed Martin Receives $10 Million to Migrate MH-60 Helicopters
    Erik
    By Erik,
      Lockheed Martin Receives $10 Million to Migrate MH-60 Helicopters to the Joint Mission Planning System   Lockheed Martin   OWEGO, N.Y., September 21st, 2010 -- The U.S. Navy awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] a $10 million contract to develop software that will enable MH-60R and MH-60S multi-mission helicopter aircrews the latest technology to pre-plan their missions for maximum success.   The U.S. military’s Joint Mission Planning System (JMPS) was developed by the U.S. Navy and Air Force based on a commercial-off-the-shelf architecture that standardizes how aircrews file their mission flight plans. JMPS will replace other legacy mission planning systems.   Lockheed Martin will develop a software module configured to JMPS containing the newest mission characteristics unique to MH-60R and MH-60S multi-mission helicopters. Those missions include anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, airborne mine countermeasures, search and rescue and ship-to-ship cargo resupply.   “The MH-60 module will give Navy SEAHAWK® pilots access to the military’s most advanced mission planning tool, allowing pilots to easily capture and load pre-planned data in a format compatible between both helicopter types,” said George Barton, director of Lockheed Martin naval helicopter programs. “Once airborne, the aircraft’s avionics will know what mission to prosecute, the intended route and navigation waypoints to use, the communications frequencies, weapons and, sensors it will employ, as well as other critical information.”   The software modules will be loaded onto a planning system laptop that allows MH-60 pilots to select preconfigured mission plans, compile weather data, maps, navigational routes, targeting data and the types of weapons and sensors their aircraft will use for a mission. The finished mission profile is transferred to a memory card and uploaded to Lockheed Martin’s Common Cockpit™ avionics suite — the digital cockpit aboard both helicopter models.   During the next 30 months, Lockheed Martin will develop and test software for the MH-60 module, also known as a unique planning component, in Owego, N.Y. Subsequent tests will be conducted at Naval Air Weapons Station, Point Mugu, Calif., and the Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Md. JMPS-based mission planning computers with the MH-60 unique planning component will be available for deployment in 2012.   MH-60 SEAHAWK multi-mission helicopters are designed and manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. Lockheed Martin provides the digital cockpit for all MH-60 helicopters, and is the prime systems integrator for the MH-60R. The Navy plans to buy 300 MH-60R and 275 MH-60S aircraft.   Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 136,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2009 sales of $44.5 billion.         Lockheed Martin           <h1></h1>

    First Production C-5M Super Galaxy Takes Flight
    Erik
    By Erik,
      First Production C-5M Super Galaxy Takes Flight   Lockheed Martin   MARIETTA, Ga., September 21st, 2010 -- Lockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] first production C-5M Super Galaxy made its first flight here Sept. 19 sporting the new “Super Galaxy” tail flash and nose art. It is set to be delivered Sept. 30 and will arrive for duty at Dover Air Force Base, Del., in November.     Lockheed Martin

    AERO Vodochody plan a new project
    Erik
    By Erik,
      AERO Vodochody plan a new project   Aero   Prague: Ministries of Defence of the Czech Republic and Brazil yesterday signed an agreement in terms of which Aero Vodochody will cooperate with the third global most important aircraft manufacturer a company Embraer on development and production of a new military multipurpose transport aircraft KC-390. „Aero very much appreciate an opportunity to cooperate with such a company as is Embraer, which successfully contribute to global aerospace production. Aero is honoured to be able to enter the new Embraer´s project and consider this as an acknowledgement of our qualities. It is a great message for development and prestige of aerospace industry of the Czech Republic and Aero presume cooperation with Czech companies. I believe it is a way how to succeed in today´s global competition,“ said President and chairman of the board of directors of Aero Vodochody Ladislav Šimek.   Negotiations of Aero with Embraer on cooperation for KC-390 project should be closed down in the fourth quarter of 2010.   Embraer KC-390   Tactical multipurpose military transport aircraft. Twin-engine jet-powered aircraft with 23,6-tonne payload rating. First flight of this aircraft is scheduled in 2014 and first delivery to the customer at the end of 2015.       Aero

    Sberbank to Finance SU-35 Fighter Production
    Erik
    By Erik,
      Sberbank to Finance SU-35 Fighter Production   Air Force News — By Sukhoi on September 21, 2010 at 4:56 am   MOSCOW: The Komsomolsk-na-Amure-based Yuri Gagarin Aviation Industrial Concern (KnAAPO), incorporated by the Sukhoi Holding Company, and Sberbank (the Savings Bank of Russia) concluded today a general agreement to build the Su-35S multi-role fighter. The document was signed by Alexander Pekarsh, KnAAPO director general, and Olga Bukhankova, head of the Savings Bank central division in Komsomolsk-na-Amure. The signing of this agreement will provide long-term funding for one of Russia’s largest aviation enterprises and ensure the series production of aircraft on time.   The state’s contract under which Sukhoi must supply, by the year 2015, the Defense Ministry with 48 super-maneuverable Su-35S fighters was signed in August last year, at the MAKS-2009 aerospace show.   The series production of the aircraft, the first of which [will be] handed over to the Defense Ministry late this year, was organized at Sukhoi’s facility in Komsomolsk.   The fighter is also intended for the foreign market. Talks are underway for the supply of aircraft to customers in Southeast Asia, Middle East, and South America for re-equipment of their air forces.   The Su-35 is a thoroughly modernized super-maneuverable multi-role fighter of the 4++ generation. It employs the fifth-generation technologies giving it an edge over the same class fighters.   The special feature of the aircraft is a new avionics suite based on a digital information control system, integrating onboard instrumentation, a new radar with a phased antenna array capable of detecting a larger number of air targets with their simultaneous tracking and engagement (tracking of 30 and engagement of 8 air targets along with tracking of 4 and engagement of 2 ground targets), and new increased and vectored thrust engines.   The Su-35 features a wide array of long-, middle- and short-range weapons. It carries guided munitions for resisting radar systems and fighting ships, general purpose weapons, guided aerial bombs and unguided missiles. The radar signature of the fighter, as compared to that of the fourth-generation, has been reduced by several times thanks to the current-conducting coating of the cockpit, application of radio absorptive surface materials and reduced number of protruding sensors.   The aircraft’s service life is 6,000 flight hours, the life cycle is 30 years, and the designed operating life of the adjustable nozzle engines is 4,000 hours.         Defence Talk

    F-15 engine tested on tri-fuel blend
    Erik
    By Erik,
      F-15 engine tested on tri-fuel blend   Air Force News — By Air Force News Agency on September 21, 2010 at 8:26 am   ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn.: Continuing the march toward certifying the entire Air Force fleet on alternative fuels, an F-15 Eagle engine is undergoing performance testing here using a unique blend of three different fuel types.   The F100 engine is being tested with a combination of JP-8 conventional aviation fuel; a biofuel derived from tallow, which is an animal fat; and a synthetic fuel derived from coal through a process commonly known as Fisher-Tropsch.   The fuels testing is being conducted to ensure the different fuels, in varying combinations, are suitable for an upcoming series of F-15 flight tests tentatively scheduled for October at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., said Brian Knack, the Aerospace Testing Alliance's program engineer for the test. ATA is the operating contractor at the Arnold Engineering Development Center.   "This (first phase of the test) evaluated a 50 percent (by volume) tallow-derived fuel, while the final phase is bringing Fischer-Tropsch-derived fuel together with the bio-fuel forming yet another new and unique blend," he said.   Testing has simulated the overall engine conditions experienced at near sea-level conditions.   A baseline test using JP-8 was performed in the first phase of the test program. Then, a blend of 50 percent tallow-derived fuel and 50 percent JP-8 was evaluated. Finally, a blend of 25 percent tallow-derived fuel and 25 percent synthetic fuel and 50 percent JP-8 was evaluated.   "They've engineered these alternative fuel blends, both the tallow and FT, to meet the existing JP-8 (specifications) requirements," Mr. Knack said. "So, we're just verifying that, although it's within the same specification chemically, that it doesn't adversely affect engine performance."   Second Lt. Drew Miller, the AEDC's project manager for the test, pointed out that this entry is not a certification test series per se, nor is it intended to include an analysis of "wear and tear" on the engine.   "We're just demonstrating that the engine can successfully perform on the biofuels that we're testing," he said.   Engineers from the Air Force Alternative Fuels Certification Office at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, noted that the hydro-treated renewable jet biofuels -- currently only available in research and development quantities -- are expensive. The expectation is that once they are certified for use by the Air Force and by airlines participating in the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, industry producers will respond to the market demand and prices will fall in line with conventional jet fuel.   Lieutenant Miller said it's important to view this test from a wider perspective.   "The Secretary of the Air Force has an initiative to reduce our dependence on oil (by) 50 percent by 2016, and this is just leading the way to make that happen," he said. "The Air Force is the largest oil consumer in the Department of Defense, and this is a major step towards increasing our independence."   Mr. Knack said he is already looking toward the future of bio-fuels.   "This is the next step of biofuel evolution, and a couple years from now we could be running algae-based fuels or whatever is deemed to be the most efficient, economically produced on a mass production level," he said. "Then we will probably see it here."         Defence Talk

    Facebook Contest
    Erik
    By Erik,
    Have you added CombatACE to your Facebook?   We're giving away a file subscription each week to a random person signed up to our Facebook page.   If you haven't already done so, add us.   <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/CombatACE/108447789190660" target="_TOP" title="CombatACE"><img src="http://badge.facebook.com/badge/108447789190660.756.2093546578.png" width="120" height="174" style="border: 0px;" /></a>   Winners announced Saturday mornings.

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